Method of inlaying designs in floor boards or the like



` nn. UMAN. METHOD 0F INLAYING DESIGNS INFLIOOR BOARDS 0R THE LIKEl APPLICATION FILED MAY 21| 1921.

Patented Det. 3, 1922..

Patented l, ilQZZi QIRRIS UMAN, OF BRUKQYN, NEW YORK.

iunrnon on interina nnsrens Application filed May 21,

To all 'whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, Monnrs Unten, a citizen of the United States, residing` at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of lnlaying Designs in Floor Boards or the like, of which the following is a specification. y

This invention relates to a method for producing decorative designs in wooden flooring, panels' or the like. ln the manufacture of such articles, as now practiced, by cutting, matching and mounting variously shaped pieces of wood upon linen to produce a mosaic design, commercially known as parquetry, the cost involved is enormous and for this reason the more moderately priced dwellings and oiiice buildings are compelled to resort to other means of providing suitable flooring and woodwork.

The object of this invention is to provide a method by which decorative cesigns may be reproduced in the surface of `ordinary wooden flooring, panels or the like, thereby decreasing the cost of such articles and producing resultsA which will compare favorably with similar products now on the market.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method by which suitable decorative designs or portions of such designs may be applied to full length strips of flooring, panels or the like, while the latter are in separate pieces so that when placed side by side or end to end a complete design will result.

Broadly, therefore, the invention consists in changing the appearance of the surface of an ordinary door board, wainscoating or the like, by drilling one or more series of shallow openings in one surface thereof and then applying a filler of color, preferably in contrast to that of the board, to the open ings in a manner hereinafter fully set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l, is a substantially vertical sectional view of the apparatus for drilling the shallow openings in the face of a piece of flooring and showing such a piece undergoing the rst step in its treatment.

Fig. 2, a perspective view of a portion of a floor board before being drilled.

llig. 3, a perspective view of the same strip shown in Fig. 2 after the openings IN FL'OUR BOARDS OR TSE LIKE.

1921,. serial No. 471,520.

have been drilled and which are arranged in the formation of a design. i

`Fig. fl, is a perspective view of the same drilled piece of flooring after a filler has been applied to the openings.

Fig. 5, is a plan view of two pieces of the decorated floor boards as they appear when laid side by side to complete a design.

Fig. l, illustrates a means by which a number of holes maybe drilled simultaneously and in prearranged formation in the surface of a wooden strip; a frame l0 supports suitable drill holding` plates ll in which are rotatably mounted drill stocks Crank arms 13 carried by the end of the stocks l2 are journaled attheir outer ends in an oscillatory plate or block lll 'which is connectedwith a crank shaft l5 mounted in the frame l0. The drill stocks l2 are mounted to revolve on parallel aires and are provided at theirends opposite the crank arms 13 with suitable drills 1G adapted to malte shallow openings inthe surface of wooden strips, as shown inyllig. l. The piece materialvsubjected to the action of the drills is designated A and is held in suitable frame 17 which lis. advanced towards the points ofthe rotating drills 1G. rllhe plates ll and lll are identical as regards the ar rangements of the stocks l?, and itl will be noted that any design maybe proeiluced by interchanging one set of plates ,for another set havingdifferently arranged holes to produce new designs, and then changing the drill stocks over from one set to the other. Any suitable apparatus may be employed for the practice of my method, although the apparatus above described is preferred.

The strips A may be of length and the apparatus likewise be sufiiciently large to take care of a full length str' but in practice it has been founl that a relatively short apparatus, having its' p ates ll and 14C substantially shorter than the nary length of a door board, is manip much more easily than one h a length. ln order that the des i continuous throughout the length strips it is necessary 'to provide a mark each end of the apparatus' indicating the distance the strip of wood may be adi` sliced following each impression made by the drills. A similar mark may be made on the edge of the strip and registered with those on the apparatus. ln this way the end holes lll@ will be evenly spaced from each other and the design will be uniform throughout its' length.

In the foregoing description itV will be noted that the apparatus is designed to produce a series of shallow openings in the surface of the wooden strip as the firststep in carrying out my invention. The size and depth of the holes made and the space between the openings will depend upon the class of work required, but in practice it has been found that more satisfactory results have been attained by using comparatively small drills and spacing them closely together. These holes are indicated at a in'Fig. 3.

The second step'in practicing my invention is illustrated in Fig. 4, wherein the holes a are shown filled with a suitable compound indicated at b. This'jmaterial' will necessarily have the property of remaining in a semi-plastic form for an indefinite period, so'tha't any .expansion or contraction of the wood surrounding it will notl have a tendency to crack the filler' and cause it to crumble. It has also been found desirable to provide the filler with color in order to carry out the effect of the design. In applyinof the filler b to the holes a any method may provided a shallow pan having its bottom wall perforated with holes corresponding in arrangement to the openings a and which are of a similar size. A slide plate similarly provided with perforations is adapted to slide over the bottom portion and by a slight movement of the slide the openings may be opened or closed. The pan isl then placed over the wooden strip and the filler b is placed into the pan and allowed to percolate through the perforations therein into the openings a with which they are' registered.

After the filler has set, the boards are ready for use and may receive the final fine employed, but in practice I have ishing or surfacing as is usual with this kind of flooring. The arrangement of the boards to produce the finished design is shown in Fig. 5, but it will be understood that many variations are possible depending entirely upon the form of the design used; some floors may have an all-over design while in other cases just a border is required.

I claim l. The method of producing inlaid designs in lengths of wood. which consists in rst simultaneously drilling a plurality of depressions into the entire length of wood with the wood held against revolving drills` said drills being disposed in predetermined formation to outline a figure composed of said depressions, and then applying a semiplasticfiller to the depressions.

y 2. The method of inlaying decorative designs in the surface of wooden strips, which consists in subjecting the surface of the wood to the simultaneous action of a series of drills, said drills being arranged to produce an outline of a design composed of shallow recesses, and. then applying a filler of contrasting color to the recesses in the surface of the wood made by the drills. j

3, The method of inlaying designsv in wooden articles of the character described, which consists in first subjecting the surface of said article to the simultaneous action of a series of drills in predetermined formation to outline a figure comprising shallow holes spaced from one another in said surface, and then applying filler to said holes from a receptacle having perforations adapted to register with the holes in said article, whereby the filler may percolate through said perforations and into the holes to fill the latter even with the surface.

In testimony whereof I have aiiiXed my signature.

MORRIS UMAN. 

